It was July 29 when the news broke. Ricky Rubio was changing teams again when he was traded from Minnesota to Cleveland. The Spanish point guard was playing the Olympic Games and at that time, despite the logical shock of any unexpected change of scenery, he put aside his situation in the NBA to focus on international competition.
“Well, when you get trespassed, a lot happens, especially with a man with a family. It’s something like, ‘Where are we going to go? How are we going to do this? And all that. ‘But at the time I wanted to block out all those thoughts because I was playing in the Olympics, and it was between the second and third group stage matches, and we were going to face Slovenia and Doncic. I wanted to block everything, ”he says.
Now the context is different. Training camp is approaching, the season begins in just over a month … It’s time to reset your mind and face a new challenge in Ohio. The differences with the situation in Minneapolis are few at the sporting level. The Cavaliers are a talented team fighting to break the barrier between a promising team and a winner. Ricky knows that his role should be to lead the group.
“I know Cleveland has a young squad. It’s probably not a good collaboration on that because I’m already 30 years old. I think there is a lot of talent, but that does not make a good team. What makes a good team is putting the pieces together and making it work. Then we will see how everything works. As a veteran, part of my job is to make that work, ”he explains to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.
(Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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